Closure-operator



F. A. PURDY CLOSURE -OPERATOR Sept. 21, 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 17. 1950 Sept. 21, 1954 F. A. PURDY 2,689,724

CLOSURE-OPERATOR Filed Jain. 17. 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet z Sept. 21, 1954 F. A. PURDY 2,689,724

CLOSURE-OPERATOR Filed Jan. 17. 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Flqfla.

TdFli-ad Sept. 21, 1954 F. A. PURDY 2,689,724

CLOSURE-OPERATOR Filed Jan. 17, 1950 a Sheets-Sheet 4- FROM Fig 7d 76 \60 INVENTOR.

Patented Sept. 21, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 14 Claims. 1

This invention relates to closure-operators, and has particular reference to devices for opening, closing, and controlling the operation of doors of garages, and of similar building structures.

Objects of the invention are economy in manufacture and installation, simplicity in design, and dependability in use. Other objects will become apparent in the development of the description.

The instant mechanism is an improvement over the devices disclosed in my prior Patents 2,062,- 015, issued November 24, 1936, and 2,127,376, issued August 16, 1938. This application is accompanied by another, filed under the same date January 17, 1950, Serial Number 139,082, showing alternative developments.

Drawings A preferred form of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a general perspective view of a garage driveway and doorway, showing my invention as installed, including the overhead mechanism and connections to doors, the weightbracket attached to wall supporting motiveweights connected by cables to the overhead mechanism, and the trip-wire located overhead for engagement by an upward projection from an automobile, such as a radio antenna rod;

Figure 2 is a view of the adjustable end of an arm attached to door; 7

Figure 3 is a view of an alternative means for setting ofi by contact with the vehicle;

Figure 4 is a plan view from above the lintel of doorway showing entrance of trip-wire through the lintel, and mounting of a guide for the trip-Wire;

Figure 5 is a View of a bag to be filled with concrete in making motive-weights;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the overhead mechanism from above inside garage showing the positioning of parts in general.

The eight figures 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 91), 10a, and 10b are views in detail of the overhead mechanism in four divisions arranged in order of figure numbers from rear end (the farthest inward of the garage) to front end (at the doorway lintel), the letter a designating a top View, and the letter 1) designating a side view, in each case. In these eight figures the parts are in position as after doors have been closed by hand. Broken lines, in Figures 9a, 9?), 10a, and 101), show some parts in position as after doors have been opened by hand.

2 Figure 11 is an end view of piston for aircushion, taken on the line I [-4] of Figure 71).

General outline 5 Except for the substitution of an overhead trip-wire in place of the contact unit actuated by the road-Wheel of the car, the door operator here described has the appearance of that illustrated in my Patent 2,127,376. Accordingly numbers of reference used in Patent 2,127,376, in general, are used here for parts having the same functions. The design here shown has its dooroperating mechanism similarly located overhead, and carried in a similar frame of channel-form 40; it has the track 45, upon which sliderunners 58 and 50, the track being supported in brackets I30 and 131 of air-cushion. cylinders I20 and HI. It has arms 21 extending to the doors, and cables I00 and I02 running to weights and 9| on the wall supported by weightbracket I49.

The meaning .of the term setting-oil is to initiate movement, as by pulling a trigger, by releasing a latch that has held against a spring or weight, by throwing an electric switch to close a circuit or otherwise putting specified part into motion.

Trip-wire The trip-wire 30 is fastened to a tree, structure, or post, such as the post 32, at one side of the driveway. It extends diagonally across the driveway to a hole 33 above the garage doors through which it passes into the garage.

In this diagonal setting across the driveway, the wire is positioned for engagement by the radio-antenna or a part of an automobile such as a vertical rod, and the movement of the automobile is thus made to displace the wire sidewise effecting a pull upon the wire outward from the garage through the hole 33, whether the movement of the car is toward or away from the garage.

It is preferable to have the post 32 on that side of the driveway which corresponds to the side of the car that carries the rod or antenna. This brings the antenna earlier into contact with the trip-wire when the car is moving towards the garage. Thus it permits of using a tree or other support for the trip-wire closer to the garage than practicable when the antenna is on the farther side of the car. It admits the trip-wire into closer quarters.

It is valuable in a device of this kind that it be susceptible to setting off by the four or five ounces of side pressure that may be applied by a flimsy antenna. It thus may embrace a wider field of potential users without expense in the provision on a users car of an antenna or equivalent rod having the rigidity of the more substantial antennas. Provisions for setting off by an antenna so flimsy as to afford a side pressure almost imperceptible will be developed in this description.

One of these provisions is the application of the trip-wire so that a light sidewise pressure upon it exerts in it a relatively strong endwise pull. Upon any wire in a span of some distance between two end supports such as two walls, a turnbuckle may be employed to effect an endwise stress beyond the ability of human hands to exert directly; yet midway of the span the wire can be displaced sidewise by ones fingernail.

The trip-wire, after being drawn outward of the hole 33 to set 01f the door-operator, escapes past the curved over top of the antenna, and is retrieved by the spring 64, Figures 7a and 71). A retrieving-spring of minimum practicable strength is used to avoid undue resistance to the antenna. The trip-wire is hung in a curved suspension to avoid the tautness that would entail use of a stronger spring, and it is of the lightest weight practicable, preferably of stainless steel for strength and durability. In this curved suspension the wire at mid-point may range below the door-height, so that it will engage an antenna adjusted to clear the lintel of the doorway.

Unless the hole 33 may be located substantially above the moving range of the doors, the curved suspension of the wire requires that the latter be supported, as by a bracket or upwardly slanting wire, indicated at 33, at a distance out from the hole 33 corresponding to the distance out from garage-wall through which the door moves.

Inside the garage, adjacent to hole 33, there is pivoted on bracket 34 an arm 35 shown in detail in Figure 4. To one end of this arm the trip-wire is attached, threaded through a hole and brought sidewise into a slot 35" to avoid undue bending or pulling in the threading operation. This means of attachment provides for free movement of the wire in its changing angular positions sidewise in the hole and slot progressively as arm 35 moves toward hole 33; and avoids repeated bendings of the wire in operation that may result in weakening and breakage. The size and distance apart of the hole 35 and slot 35" are determined by experiment so that the trip-wire will pull out of them upon application of a predetermined stress such as ten pounds. vehicle taller than the height of the wire-level, or if a ladder or other heavy object, should come into engagement with the trip-wire, the latter will pull out of the arm 35 without breakage, and needs only to be rethreaded into the hole 35' and slot 35".

The end of the arm 35 to which the trip-wire 33 is attached, upon being drawn toward the hole 33, moves through an are indicated by arrows and broken line, Figure 4. The rise of the arc is less than the diameter of hole 33, thus the tripwire is controlled to avoid friction with hole 33.

A trigger-wire 3| is fastened at one of its ends to the arm 35 and-at the other end to trigger 42.

Retrieving-spring 64 (Figures 7a and 7b), at-

Thus if a Alternative trip An alternative means of producing a pull from outside the garage by trip-wire 30, effected by contact with the top of an automobile, is shown in Figure 3. Guy wires 38 and T8 at their outer ends (not shown) are fastened to any structures, or supports such as posts, either side of the driveway. At their ends more or less midway of the driveway they fasten through holes in a spindle 76 to support the latter, which passes through a hole in rod 15 and supports that pivotally. On the rod I5 above and below the spindle two wires 19 and 79' are fastened, these connecting to an eye formed in trip-wire 30 which latter runs to the garage on a line substantially at right angles to the guy wires 78 and '18. At the lower end of the rod 5 a ball I? of rubber or other soft mateterial is fixed.

In operation, when the automobile is moving toward the garage its roof comes into contact with the ball TI and moves the ball and rod toward the garage, so that the wire it pulls the trip-wire 30 outward of the garage; and when the automobile is moving away from the garage, its roof moves the ball and rod away from the garage, so that the wire 19' pulls the trip-wire 3G outward of the garage; in either case imparting the same movement to the trigger #32, and producing the same consequent operation of doors, as elsewhere described.

Overhead mechanism As used in reference to any part of the overhead mechanism, the word forward means in the direction of the lintel-bracket 3 5, and the word rearward means in the direction of the ceiling-bracket (Figure 1).

Except for improvements, a description of the overhead mechanism follows that in my Patent 2,127,376, issued August 16, 1938.

The frame 40 at its front end is fastened to the lintel by lintel-bracket 34%, consisting of two pieces of sheet-metal formed and spot-welded together; and at its rear end is suspended from the ceiling by ceiling-bracket 95.

Track 45 is held at its ends in respective rectangular holes punched in air-cushion endbrackets I30 and I3I. This track is preferably of angle-iron of equal flanges.

The runners $8 and 53 are formed to fit over the track 45 and to clasp around the edges of the track-flanges.

A bumper 41 is spot-welded to the runner 38. The vertical part of bumper l'l engages the ends of tubular air-cushion piston-rods 'I I3 and H9, and has a hole for interconnecting spring I555. The horizontal part of bumper a l has two punched holes reinforced with cleats spot-welded on, through which are pressed pivots 2t anchored by clasps 41'.

Arms 21 preferably are of sheet-metal in channel-form with pivot-holes punched through, reinforced by cleats 2'! spot-welded on, to engage pivotally the pivots 26 on the bumper d? and 25 on door-lugs 28 (Figure 2). Each lug 23 is a bracket formed into a right-angle with its vertical leg fastened to the door and its horizontal leg provided with a pivot 25 in the same way as described for bumper 41.

The farther the door-lug is set from the free edge of door, the farther will be the open position of the door beyond a right-angle, and the longer will be the required length of the arm at the closed position of the door. Accordingly each arm is made adjustable as to length, as shown in through which is put a bolt 29 to hold the adjustment.

There is spot-welded to the runner 48 an apron 48" (Figures 8a and 8b) which carries jaws 53 preferably formed of plastic. The jaws are fastened to the apron by the running of the plastic when molten into holes inthe apron that are counterbored on the runner side.

An arrow 44 of rounded stem and head preferably is formed of plastic pressed onto the end of cable I02. Cable I02 passes from the arrow rearward to sheave-wheel B3 pivotally supported in bracket 82 riveted. to flange of frame 40, around the said sheave-wheel 83 and forward through a square hole in bracket I30 (which hole is the size of outside dimensions of angle-iron track 45) continuing forward under the horizontal flange of the trackto pass through a similar square hole in bracket I3I (Figure 10a broken lines) to go around sheave-wheel 8'4 (pivotally supported in bracket 8|) in the direction indicated by broken lines in Figure 10a, or,alternatively, according to the wall upon which weights are to hang, the cable I 92, forward of the hole in bracket I30 passes outside the range of the track and outside bracket I3I to go around sheave-wheel 84 in the direction indicated by solid lines in Figure 10a. Upon reaching the wall, cable I02 passes over a sheave-wheel mounted on wall-bracket I49, Figure 1, down to motive-weight 9|.

The arrow 44 is at all times under stress of the weight 9I. The back of arrow-head 44 is concave, and the concavity fits theteeth 53 on jaws 53. There are two jaws, one each side of the arrow; these balance the stress to afford precise direction to the stem of the arrow, and to double the certainty of hold by the arrow over that in the design shown in my Patent 2,127,376. In that earlier design the hold was off center of the arrow, and the stem of the arrow assumed a downward direction out of which the stem had to be lifted when the arrow, pulling the doors closed, reached the fulcrum 4|. The two teeth 53 of jaws 53 now are opposite and on the center-line of thearrow, permitting the stem of the arrow to take a direct line horizontally with the cable I92 and so to precisely enter a fulcrum, herein called gimbal -4I, about to be described. A line through the two tips of theteeth 53' would be at right angles to the apron 48, thus the teeth control the stem of the arrowiinto line parallel with the apron 48" and track 4 for direction into the gimbal M. A ring 44" integral with the stem of the arrow comes to rest against the gimbal M at the termination of the travel of the arrow in the closing movement of the doors.

Gimbal 4i, preferably formed of plastic, pivots in holes punched in sheet-meal supports 96 and 91. In its pivotal movement it acts as a fulcrum for the arrow. But it is freely slidable sidewise, that is, endwise of its journals, to accommodate to the position taken by the arrow with cable I02 in any straight 1ine from the jaws 53 to the groove on sheave-Wheel 83. Some irregularities in positions of parts is characteristic of a device of this kind made at low cost. The effect of these irregularities upon the position of the arrow is compensated by the gimbal in its freedom to slip sidewise. The irregularities may occur from clearances in holes for bolts and rivets, or more especially in the clearance necessary 6, to the runners 48 and 50 upon the track 45. The track, for economy is of mill-stock angle-iron. Roughnesses occur on the surfaces and corners of this, or in the precise dimensions of the flanges, that bind at spots upon a closely fitting runner that in the main length of the track might slide freely. The gimbal, midway of its hole that receives the stem of the arrow, fits the arrow-stem closely, but the hole enlarges in a taper (Figure 8a) outward from the mid-point for ready leading in of the stem, and the hole is beveled or chamfered at its outer edges. The end of the stem tapered down to the cable may have roughnesses in the plastic at the point of meeting the cable. The taper and chamfer in the hole of gimbal permits the avoidance of such roughnesses, while the cable, when within the restricted midway part of the hole, limits the extent to which the outer edges of the hole may be approached by the tapered end of stem.

The use of a pivoting gimbal is an improvement over the stationary fulcrum such as M in my Patent 1,127,376, not only for its freedom to slip sidewise, but for its reduction in the resistance to depression of the arrow-stem by trigger 42. For the arrow to take an upward slant forward of the fulcrum, there was friction involved in the travel upward at the boss 44" against the face of the fulcrum, and in the travel forward by the stem in the hole of the fulcrum, and there was positive resistance by the weight 91 through cable I02 to this travel forward. The elimination or" these resistances is important to a device set off by the few ounces of pressure on a trip-wire by a flimsy antenna.

A keeper 50", spot-welded to the side of runner 50, has a notch 50' (Figure 8b) punched out of its lower edge to receive the latch 60. This keeper is punched also with one hole .and two slots into which cable I90 is woven. The turns of the cable in the hole and slots from side to side of the keeper (Figure 8a.) provide an adequate fastening without welding or soldering.

Cable I 00 extends from the keeper forward under the horizontal flange of track 4-5 to pass through the square hole (that receives the track, as already noted) in bracket I 3l to go around sheave-wheel 8% in the direction indicated by broken lines in Figure 10a, or, alternatively, according to the wall upon which the weights are to hang, the cable I013, forward of the keeper 5c", passes outside the range of track 45, and outside bracket I3I, to go around sheave-wheel inthe direction indicated by solid lines in Figure 10a. Upon reaching the wall, cable I68 passes over a sheave-wheel mounted on wall-bracket I49, Figure 1, down to motive-weight 8G.

Latch 60 has a counterpart 60' riveted to it at 58; 60 and 6G embrace the bracket 91 and are pivoted on the pin 51. The rearward end of latch 60 turns at a right-angle to engage keepernotoh 50'. The rearward end of part 69 turns at a right-angle oppositely and extends up to the stem of arrow, so that when the stem is depressed, the latch 60 is depressed with it to unlatch the keeper 50". Spring BI keeps the latch 65 tending upward.

The notch 50' is slanted away from the latch 60 to reduce resistance in unlatching-the angle of this slant from the vertical is greater than the angle made by the arc in which latch moves, so that friction in the unlatching progressively is relieved throughout the movement.

The lower edge of keeper 50 is even with the lower tip of apron 4'8". This evenness prevents the latching of either when in contact, that is, the latching of apron 48" (by latch 24' to be described) or the latching of keeper 50" by protective latch 43. Protective latch 43 pivots on pin 51. Its larger end 43' (Figure 81)) operates by gravity to bring its rearward end into engagement with the forward end of keeper 50". The purpose of this latch 43 is to insure against the precipitate dropping of the opening weight so when doors are opened by hand. It is possible, though rare in occurrence, to bring the doors to closed position in manual resetting so that the keeper 50 is moved rearward far enough only to obtain a partial hold by the latch iii).

The latch :33 is so designed that its latching end as" can reach the latching position only after the apron 48" is about an inch forward of the keeper 50". This permits of the automatic opening of the door after, in closing, it has subsided to a position about an inch short of fully closed position. Hinge-binding, and other resistances such as pebbles near the sill, at times prevent the full closing of doors. The stem of arrow is provided with about an inch of excess length so that it will receive the contact by trigger when doors are short of fully closed position.

Broken lines, Figure 8b, illustrate the relative positions of arrow 44 and of latch members til. fit, when the depression of the arrow-stem has been made through about two-thirds of the movement of trigger 42. It will be observed that the head of arrow is clearing the teeth of jaws 53 while the latch 60 still holds the keeper 50". This is another provision for minimizing the resistances to the pull of the trip-wire by a flimsy antenna. Clearance is observable, Figure 81), between the arrow-head and the teeth 53 of jaws when the runner 48 is brought rearward far enough to move the keeper 50 into engagement with latch 60. Frictional resistance to the lifting of the arrow-head at the jaws may be zero,

or may be only that incident to an outward tendency by the doors when at rest. If the arrow were shorter between gimbal and jaws, so that, after manual resetting, the arrowhead and jaws took the pressure of weight 90 on keeper while that pressure were unnecessarily relieved upon the free-acting slant of notch 59', the fric tional resistance to the lifting of the arrow-head would be magnified. v

Latch'carrier 24, Figures 9a and 9b, is formed in a U-shape, and is pivoted by a cotter-pin through the flange of frame 40, and through a flange of an angle-formed bracket 98 riveted to floor of frame. One leg of latch-carrier extends forward for engagement by tappet 25, and the other end extends forward contiguous to apron i?" when runner 48 is brought to its forward position in operation of doors. It carries on this leg a latch 24 pivoted by rivet 23 which is set up only far enough to prevent looseness while permitting free pivoting. Latch 24' engages the end of apron 48" to hold the doors open upon these being opened manually. The face of latch,

2 which comes into contact with apron i8 is set at such an angle that it recedes from the apron 48" during its downward movement in unlatching, and thus relieves frictional resistance progressively in the unlatching movement. Without this relieving angle the latch would require to force the apron 48 slightly forward in unlatching, against resistance by weight 9! through cable I02. Latch 24' is limited from pivoting forward of this angular position by the cotter-pin 20, the head of which bears under latch-carrier 24. On this cotter-pin a spring 22 attaches, anchored at bracket 98. This spring as far as permitted by the finger 2i press-fitted into latch-carrier to engage below the apron 4'3, and of yieldingly holding the latch 24' in the angular position described. When doors, having been opened manually, are to be closed again manually, hand-pressure upon the doors causes the spring 22 to yield, permitting the latch 2 to slant rearward from the apron 48" and thus to unlatch. Automatic unlatching of the apron 38 occurs with the actuation of tappet 25. Tappet 25 is bolted to flange of frame ti as shown, the bottom of the head of flat-head screw 59 pressing tightly against the hole in flange of frame, while the fit of the tappet (centered by the slanted under side of the screw-head) allows free pivotal movement of the tappet. A horn 25' extending from the side of the tappet is in contact with the leg already mentioned of the latchcarrier 24. A trace 65, connects between a hole at the lower end of the tappet and a hole at the lower end of trigger 42. The movement of trigger 42 by trip-wire 30 from the automobile triprod or antenna causes the pull through trace S5 to bring the horn of tappet downward upon the latch-carrier to unlatch the apron es" and permit doors to close.

Air cushions are of low-cost design. Cylinders I20 and I2| are simply cut to length from standard tubing. The brackets I30, l3i, I32, formed of sheet-metal have holes punched for four tierods I 29, the lintel-bracket 94 that closes the forward end of cylinder [2 I, being similarly punched. Lintel-bracket and rearward bracket I32 have no hole in'them for escape of air. The escape of air occurs where the cylinders butt against these brackets, and it is adjustable by'thesetting up of the nuts on tie-rods i253 to provide a high air-compression to arrest heavy doors or a low compression to arrest light-weight doors, at the terminations of their opening and closing movements.

The low-cost construction of piston includes a novel expander to keep the leather sealed against the sides of cylinder when the piston is moved direction of air-compression, and to yield for ready passage of air when the piston is moved in the opposite direction. The leather I22, cupped as shown, in Figures 7a, '71), 10a and lob, has an expander I23 of thin spring-metal such as Phos phor bronze, punched in the form shown in the end-view of piston, Figure 11. ight slots are punched in the expander closed at an inward circle-line, and open at the periphery, forming eight varies in contact with the inside of the cupped part of leather at the periphery of the expander, which yield spring-like at the inward circle-line close to washer I25. The dished position of the expander appears in the side and top views of the piston, Figures 7a, 7b, 10a, and 10b. The leather is bolstered by baclrings i224 of shcetmetal punched to fit on the piston-rod. A washer I25 fits on the piston-rod on the other side of leather and expander, these four pieces being confined by cotter-pins I26. A cork 28 is 11..- serted in the tubular piston-rod between the two cotter-pins. In its dished shape within the cupped leather the expander at its periphery creases slightly into the leather and does not slip out of the crease. When the piston moves in the direction of air-compression, the leather is pressed by the compressed air and cylinder friction against the backing, and the dished shape of 9 the expander tends to fiatten out and to press the leather against the sides of cylinder for effective sealing against the escape of air past the piston. When the piston returns in the opposite direction, the friction of the leather on the side-walls of the cylinder moves the leather away from its backing I2 2, and the expander I23 yields with the movement into a more accentuated dishform, lightening the contact between the leather and the sides of cylinder and permitting free passage of air around the piston.

The two piston rods I I8 and I I9 are interconnected by spring IIB, so that whenever the bumper 4? is moved away from either air-cushion, this spring pulls the piston-rod outward of the cushion ready for compression of air when next impelled by the bumper.

Core-wire Ill, of spring steel, fioats free of endwise attachment within spring I I6 and Within the tubular piston-rods I I8 and H9. Core-wire II! is of a length short of the distance between oppositely and fully inthrust pistons by the distance of travel of one piston. The purpose of this core-wire is to lend rigidity to spring IIB as it rides in hole already noted in bumper 41. At the approach of the bumper to the piston-rod the spring must rapidly lift the piston-rod out of a lowered position assumed by the latter under gravity at its outward position. Spring IIB must be of light weight to afford minimum resistance to door-movement with motive weights not excessively heavy. Except for the rigidity afforded by the core-wire, such a light-weight spring would be crushed between the end of the lowered piston-rod and the bumper. My Patent 2,127,376 shows the spring IIB attached off the sides of piston-rods. This necessitated a means of controlling the piston-rod from turning the springattachment downward into the path of yoke 48 under weight of spring and attachment. But a further need was not met, now provided for in the use of core-wire III, that of centering the piston-rod at the bumper at the beginning of the thrust in line with hole through which it slides in the bracket I38 or I3I. Unless this centering is done at the beginning of the thrust, the friction of the end of piston-rod against the bumper resists the lifting of the rod and pinches the rod against the bottom of the piston-rod hole in bracket I30 or I3I, setting up a resistance which in some cases prevents the completion of doormovement, particularly in closing, where'additional resistances, such as hinge-binding, may be ery being less than the thickness of the cable.

Motive-weights and attachments.

In Figure 1 there is shown a means of attaching the cable to a weight. Cables are designed to bend through arcs of relatively large radius, and cannot be threaded readily through closely adjacent holes. The plate I48 shown'has a hole through which the cable goes, andaslot into which the cable may be introduced sidewi'se without undue bending. This means of attaching provides a weak point forthe cable so that in case of accidental slippage of a latch or other part, and precipiate fall of a weight, the cable will let go at this plate I48 and avoid strain or breakage of other parts.

It is of value to provide a means of determining at point of installation the mass of the motive-weight to be used. The less the weight, the easier the manual re-setting. But at some jobs a weight heavier than average may be needed because doors are large or heavy or because of frictional and other resistances. Also it is usual that resistances occur more in closing so that the opening weight may be made lighter. After all efiorts have been made to eliminate friction by doors against frame or sill, and to eliminate hinge-binding, one set of doors will be found to resist closing more than others, or one set of doors may be found to resist opening more than others because of exposure to breezes. The solution will be the addition of mass to the weight. This is provided for in the kind of weight here shown.

Figure 5 shows a bag I4!) of fabric or fibrous -material, to be filled with material of relatively 25' high specific gravity, such as concrete, marked for the height of material to be filled in, to provide motive-weights of poundage desired. To facilitate filling of the bag, its top-flaps I40 and I40" may be tacked to strips of wood nailed to the sides of a box, or supported otherwise, as between two boxes or chairs. In order that the bag and its contents may be put into immediate use before material such as concrete may have hardened and before final determination of mass may have been made, the clevis I41 is turned to rightangles at its bottom ends under a disc I42 of sheet-metal or stiff cardboard, this disc being pressed horizontally into the bottom of the bag before the concrete is filled in. The lifting stress applied by the clevis thus is taken by the disc. The bag may be tied with cord above the level of concrete to round off the top, or the top of concrete may be troweled ofi to any desired contour. After concrete hardens, the bag may be ripped off. Other advantages in a weight such as described are in low cost of concrete as against iron, and in saving of shipping costs that would be entailed in sending motive-weights with the mechanism.

Operation of doors Operation of doors is automatic when, with one or both weights upward, the cars antenna displaces the trip-wire 30.

Manual operation to open and close the doors is possible at all times.

Manual operation with one or both weights downward serves to reposition the weight or weights upward.

Automatic opening or closing is afforded when. the user is in the car under movement outside the garage. Upon the car approaching the garage, the user sets the trip-rod I88 into vertical position, this displaces trip-wire 3E1 sidewise, and the resulting forward pull upon the top end of trigger 42 depresses the stem of arrow 44 to lift the arrowhead 44' from jaws 53, freeing runner 48 from bearing by closingweight 9|, and, at the same time, to push down latch 60, unlatching runner 50 to move forward under stress of opening weight 90. Weight 90 pulls both runners 48 and 50 forward on the track, and, through arms 21, pushes the doors open.

Toward the end of the movement, bumper 4'I 11 engages piston-rod i E9 to compress air in cylinder i2l and cushion the termination of the opening. The user drives the car into the garage, and upon getting out pulls one of the doors closed by hand, the ether follows. This returns the weight 9G to upward position. The weight i then held upward by latch 60 in keeper 5t". Toward the end of this manual closing movement, the weight 9! is re-engaged by the sliding of jaws'53 under arrowhead 44 and the snapping of arrowhead back into horizontal line, under stress of cable I02, to engage the jaws.

Cable 9! continues to bear upon arrow #3 5 to hold the doors closed, and to return them to closed position after any manual opening whether partial or full,

While the car is in the garage, the doors may be locked and unlocked by any conventional means.

The user upon return to the garage, pulls one of the doors open by hand, re-positioning weight 9| upward; the movement forward of runner l8, and of arms 2'? with it, pushes the other door open. At the completion of the opening movement the doors are held open by the engagement of; apron 88 by latch 25.

If now it should be desired to close the doors by hand, the user presses against either door to overcome the resistance of latch 24' through spring 22, whereupon the doors subside to closed position under stress of weight 9|.

At the beginning of the movement of manual opening of doors, the protective latch 43, freed of restriction by apron '38, assumed its latching position forward of keeper 50 to ensure against inadequate hold by latch 60.

Upon the car being driven outward with doors held open by latch 24, trip-rod I60 is set into vertical position to displace trip-wire 30 and apply a forward pull upon trigger 42; the lower extension of trigger is moved rearward, producing through trace E5 and tappet 25 a rearward movement which brings the horn 25 downward upon latch-carrier 2d and unlatches apron 48", permitting runner 43, under stress of weight 9| applied through cable m2, arrow 44, and jaws 53, to move rearward and close the doors.

Towards the end of the movement, piston-rod H8 is engaged by bumper 41 to compress air in cylinder I25 and cushion the termination of closing. 7 Arrow fi l holds its position on jaws 5,3 to bring weight iii to bear upon doors to keep the doors closed or to close them if opened by hand partially or in full.

Doors and mechanism are again in position observed at the beginning, ready for automatic opening upon the return of the car.

On some automobiles the radio-antenna may be observed at the rear end of the body. A triprod for a door-operator located towards the end of the body that last passes through the doorway, when the car is leaving the garage (usually the front end of the body), sets off the door closing movement after the car is clear of the doors, and avoids the need of a time-delay means such as shown in my Patent 2,127,376.

I claim:

1. In combination, a garage disposed at the end of a driveway and having a door manually movable between open and closed positions, means to latch the manually opened door in open position, means to condition the manually opened door for automatic closing when manually opened,,means to latch the manually closed door in closed posithe driveway and mounted overhead at a height.

to be engaged by a passing vehicle, and having the other end anchored whereby a vehicle moving toward or from the garage and past the tensioning device displaces the latter and actuates the latch release operator,

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the tensioning device includes a taut overhead wire disposed diagonally of the driveway and when displaced sidewise or vertically exerting a pull on the latch release operator.

3. The combination of claim 1, wherein the tensioning device includes an overhead anchor wire across the driveway and pivotally carrying a vehicle engageable arm for movement toward and away from the garage on passage of the vehicle and. connects both above and below the crosswire so that the tension wire is pulled irrespective of the direction in which the vehicle is moving.

4. The combination of claim 1, wherein the connection between the latch release operator and the tensioning device includes a swingable arm inside the garage and two wires, one extending from the swingable arm to the latch release and the other passing through an opening in the garage wall and across the driveway.

5. In combination, a pair of garage doors, hingedly connected at the opposite sides of a doorway for swinging about a vertical axis, a runner guide extending rearwardly from the doorway, a runner reciprocable along the guide, links connecting the runner and doors so that the runner shifts back and forth in accordance with door closing and door opening, a door closing cable connected to the runner and normally under predetermined tension to bias it rearwardly and the doors closed, a runner retaining latch beyond which the runner, when moved to the door opening position passes, a latch spring acting to then bring the latch behind the runner, the latch spring being of sufficient strength to prevent the shifting of the doors closed by the tensioned door closing cable and being yieldable to permit manual closing of the doors, and a remote controlled latch release for shifting the latch away from the runner so that the door closing cable may close the doors.

6. The combination of claim 5, wherein the remote controlled latch release includes a shiftable latch carrier guided for movement in a fixed path and the face of the latch in engagement with the runner and the engaged surface of the runner are so disposed as to allow the runner to then initially move under the influence of the door closing cable.

7. In combination, a pair of garage doors, hingedly connected at the opposite sides of a doorway for swinging about a vertical axis, a runner guide extending rearwardl fromthe doorway, a runner reciprocable along the guide and having a downwardly and rearwardly aligning edge, links connecting the runner and doors so that the runner shifts. back and forth in accordance with door closing and door opening, a door closing cable connected to the runner and normally under predetermined tension to bias it rearwardly and the doors closed, a pivoted lever carrying a runner retaining latch beyond which the runner, when moved to the door opening position passes, a latch spring acting to hold the lever against the sloping edge and to then bring the latch behind the runner, the latch spring being of sufficient strength to prevent the shifting of the doors closed by the tensioned door closing cable and being yieldable to permit manual closing of the doors, and a remote controlled latch release for shifting the lever downwardly to move the latch away from the runner so that the door closing cable may close the door.

8. In combination, a pair of garage doors, hingedly connected .at the opposite sides of a doorway for swinging about a vertical axis, a runner guide extending rearwardly from the doorway, a front runner reciprocable along the guide, links connecting the front runner and doors so that the front runner shifts back and forth in accordance with door closing and door opening, a door closing cable detachably connected to the front runner and normally under predetermined tension to bias it rearwardly and the doors closed, a rear runner behind the front runner, a door opening cable secured to the rear runner and normally under a predetermined tension to bias the rear runner forwardly against the front runner, a latch engageable with the rear runner to hold the rear runner against movement when the front runner is manually shifted to door opening position, a front runner retaining latch beyond which the front runner, when moved to the door opening position passes, a latch spring acting to then bring the front runner latch behind the front runner, the latch spring being of sufficient strength to prevent the shifting of the doors closed by the tensioned door closing cable and being yieldable to permit manual closing of the doors, a remote controlled latch release for either shifting the front runner latch away from the front runner so that the door closing cable may close the doors, if open, or for shifting the rear runner latch to release the rear runner so that the door opening cable may open the doors, if closed, means operated by the latch release for disconnecting the door closing cable from the front runner when the front runner is in door closing position, and a rear runner retaining latch biased to a position to hold the rear runner against movement when the front runner is in door opening position, said runners when held together acting on the retaining latch to hold it in inoperative position.

9. The combination of claim 8, wherein the cable disconnecting means and the rear runner latch release include a single spring biased lever common to both so that they operate in timed relation.

10. Door opening and closing mechanism including a guide on which are mounted two reciprocable runners in tandem, doors connected to the front runner to move concurrently therewith to open and closed positions, a door opening cable connected to the rear runner and urging it toward the front runner to cause the doors to open, a door closing cable extending forwardly from behind the rear runner and carrying a rigid, rod-like member having an enlarged forward end and a collar spaced from said end, a cable guide disposed laterally of the rear runner when in the rear position and loosely receiving the rod-like member to the rear of the collar so that the rod-like member may be rocked about a horizontal axis, the front runner having a laterally disposed lug movable past the forward end of the rod-like member when the two runners are brought together after being separated and with which said end engages to latch the front runner to the door opening cable, a door closing cable secured to the rear runner, a rear runner latch holding the rear runner against movement when the front runner is moved forwardly upon manual opening of the doors and tensioning of the door closing cable, and a common operator acting on the rod-like member for releasing the door closing cable from the front runner and acting on the rear runner latch to release the latch so that the door opening cable may shift both runners and open the door.

11. In combination, a guide on which are mounted two reciprocable runners in tandem, a pair of doors connected to the front runner to be opened when the front runner moves forwardly, the front runner having a laterally disposed lug with a longitudinally extending trough, a forwardly tensioned cable secured to the rear runner, a rearwardly tensioned cable having a rod-like member secured to the front end of the second cable and having a collar spaced from its front end, a cable guide through which the rod-like member to the rear of the collar loosely passes so that said front end projects beyond the cabel guide, the front end of the rod-like member and the rear of the lug having camming surfaces which lift the said front end as the lug passes under it when the front runner is moved against the rear runner, the rod-like member having an enlarged end engageable with the front end of the lug in opposite sides of the trough to couple the lug and rearwardly tensioned member together, and being held in said coupling portion by the tension of the rearwardly tensioned cable, a latch normally holding the rear runner against forward movement by the forwardly tensioned cable, and a trigger device which depresses the rear of the rod-like member when in said position to lift its front end free of the lug and releases the latch for the rear runner so that the forwardly tensioned cable may shift both runners forwardly to open the doors.

12. The combination of claim 11, having a retainer latch for the rear runner released. by movement of the forward runner away from the rear runner to prevent movement of the rear runner when the two runners are separated, and a front runner retaining latch for holding the front runner in a forward, door-opening position against tension of the rearwardly tensioned cable connected thereto, and having means to free the last-mentioned latch from the front runner when the trigger device is actuated.

13. The combination of claim 11, where the front runner latch has a spring load suilicient to resist the rearwardly tensioned cable and yieldable on excess rearward force so that the runner may be manually returned to close the door.

14. In combination, a door, a rectilinear guide, a runner movable back and forth on the guide and connected to the door to have one position when the door is open and another when the door is closed, runner actuating means for shifting the runner back and forth, a pair of aligned air cylinders beyond the range of movement of the runner, a piston in each cylinderto form a dash-pot, a tubular piston rod connected to each piston, a coiled spring biasing the pistons toward. one another, a wire passing through the rods and coiled spring to hold them in alignment, the piston rods each being of a length to be engageable by the runner before it reaches the end of its movement toward the corresponding cyiinder whereby the air in the cylinder is compressed to check movement of the runner.

Pteferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,315,308 Homan Sept. 9, 1919 1,378,123 7 Lovejoy May 17, 1921 Number 19 Name Date Stimpson Dec. '7, 1926 Dobbins Jan. 11, 1927 DeLong Feb. 15, 1927 Morse et a1. Apr. 21, 1931 Marsden June 2, 1931 Kling June 23, 1931 Stimpson Aug. 9, 1932 Scroggs May 30, 1933 Purdy Nov. 24, 1936 Mowers et a1 May 11, 1937 Purdy Aug. 16, 1938 Lichtfeldt May 2, 1939 Hummel Oct. 27, 1942 Carington et a1. Dec. 20, 1949 Grashow May 30, 1950 Curry Sept. 25, 1951 

